Kite Man
Kite Man (Charles "Chuck" Brown) is a fictional supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Publication history Kite Man first appeared in Batman #133 (August 1960), and was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang. Fictional character biography Charles "Chuck" Brown is a man who armed himself with kite weapons to be used to commit crimes. He flies with a big kite strapped to him. He also uses a barrage of kites to overwhelm his enemies. He has run afoul of Batman, Robin, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl on different occasions. In his first appearance, he uses kites for a variety of crimes, including helping criminals escape prison. Batman uses kites of his own to defeat him.Batman (vol. 1) #133 (August 1960) Kite-Man returns again, now sporting a visor. He hires several men, whom he betrays. Batman again defeats him with his own kite.Batman (vol. 1) #315 (September 1979) Writer Len Wein brings him back in a story about payroll heists, in which the gimmicky kites are not used. Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna confront him again, in Hawkman's title. His real name is revealed, as well as a childhood fascination with kites. He is defeated and crashes into a tree.Hawkman (vol. 2) #4 (November 1986) Kite-Man is one of many criminals to take advantage of the supervillain-friendly atmosphere of the fictional country of Zandia. He ends up joining its sports team and later becomes involved in a fight against an invading troop of superheroes.Young Justice #50 (December 2002) In Infinite Crisis, Joker reports that Brown was thrown off Wayne Tower without his kite by Deathstroke, after he refused to join the new Secret Society of Super Villains.Infinite Crisis #3 (February 2006) Brown, however, survives his fall and reaches some low rank in the post-Crisis Gotham City's underworld in the pages of the weekly series 52. He is captured alongside Sewer King, Dawson, Lamelle, The Squid and Mirage. As with the other prisoners, Kite Man is killed and eaten by Bruno Mannheim upon refusing to side with him.52 Week Twenty-Five (October 2006) DC Rebirth Kite Man appears in the DC Rebirth universe. This version is referred to as Charles, Chuck, and Charlie Brown. He seems to be somewhat unstable, constantly chanting the catch-phrase "Kite Man, hell yeah!", a reference to his son, Charles Brown Jr.'s reaction to the first time he tried flying a kite. He first appears robbing a luxurious party, before being quickly foiled by Gotham Girl.Batman vol. 3 #6 He is then seen in a prison cell in Arkham Asylum as Batman walks down the aisles looking for criminals.Batman vol. 3 #9 At some point, he escapes, as he is later one of the many villains taken down by Batman and Catwoman after he takes her along with him on an average night of his job in Gotham City.Batman vol. 3 #14 Kite Man later sold a kite to a pawn shop, where Headhunter purchased it to use to kill Swamp Thing's father. Batman and Swamp Thing interrogated Kite Man later.Batman vol. 3 #23 In a story set during the early years of Batman's career, it is revealed that he studied wind in school. He was a divorced father, became an alcoholic and began a life of criminal activities, eventually being recruited by the Joker to design the Jokermobile. During The War of Jokes and Riddles, he becomes encircled by Batman, who commands him to get the Joker's phone number and, later, to meet him. Shortly after, the Riddler kidnaps Charles, wanting to know about his future meeting with the Joker. After being freed, he is kidnapped again, this time by the Joker, who tells him about his encounters with Batman and the Riddler. He is then forced to serve as a suicide bomber by the Joker to kill Batman, but realizes that the bomb is fake. Charles Brown Jr., his son, is poisoned by the Riddler and subsequently dies. Wanting to get revenge on the Riddler, Charles Brown creates the persona of Kite Man to join the Joker's side.Batman vol. 3 #27 After Batman joins the Riddler's side on the war he starts to defeat every villain on Joker's side, leaving Kite Man for last. When Kite Man is captured he tells Batman and the Riddler about Joker's last secret hideout on a building and provides them and all the villains on Riddler's side kites so they can infiltrate it. After breaking inside, Riddler and his villains turn against Batman, who tells Kite Man to activate the jet-propelled inverse parachutes in their packs, making the villains ascend to be captured by Alfred Pennyworth in the Bat-Blimp.Batman vol. 3 #31 After a scuffle, the Riddler then reveals that the creation of Kite Man, and his own defeat at Kite Man's hands, was part of an unsuccessful plan to solve the Joker's depression and make him laugh again.Batman vol. 3 #32 In other media Television * Kite Man appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Jeffrey Combs. As a boy, he was obsessed with Benjamin Franklin and attempted to recreate his famous kite-flying electrical experiment. However, he failed to take adequate safety precautions, wore metal braces, and stood in a bucket of water. The subsequent electrical shock psychologically traumatized him and forced him into a life of kite-centric crime. In "Terror on Dinosaur Island", a flashback depicts him as the leader of a group of thieves equipped with high-tech glider kites that allows them to commit crimes. Kite Man is stopped by Batman, and his former henchman Eel O'Brian (who Batman rescued from the vat he fell in) testified against him in court, and was later arrested. In "Long Arm of the Law", Kite Man steals a sample of Plastic Man in order to complete a theta beam gun that will enable anyone to copy Plastic Man's powers, or petrify someone with elastic powers. He also obtains a sidekick named Rubberneck and gains stretching powers from theta beam exposure, and fights Batman and Plastic Man. However, he and Rubberneck are defeated when they are entangled together and the theta beam gun turns them to stone. Film * Kite Man is featured in The Lego Batman Movie. He is among the villains that are brought together by the Joker. Video games * Kite Man is mentioned in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. * Kite Man appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, with Jeffrey Combs reprising the role from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series. See also * List of Batman Family adversaries References External links * DCU Guide: Kite Man Category:Characters created by Bill Finger Category:DC Comics supervillains Category:Fictional aviators Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1960